January 31: Daddy/Daughter Dance

I'm extremely pleased to conclude Month 1 of this journey with an event that is both a first timer for me and an honor in which to have been able to participate. Today, I escorted my daughter to our first ever Daddy/Daughter dance. My daughter had been looking forward to this day since she first asked me if I would attend with her, approximately 3 weeks ago. I would be lying if I said I didn't have some reservations about wanting to go, as I didn't exactly know what to expect and it's not like I'm Michael Jackson on the dance floor. However, she is my daughter and I would do pretty much anything she asked me to do, so the decision to be a loving Father and do the right thing for her was never a difficult one; actually it was never really a decision at all, as that would require even considering a "no" and that thought just never crossed my mind. Anyway, the entire experience turned out to be wonderful! First, I was able to share an entire afternoon with my daughter; just me and her - if you don't count the other 200+ fathers and daughters in attendance. But, we hardly ever get to have time like that with just the two of us, so it was very special. Secondly, my daughter is not shy when it comes to dancing, as we started out doing the same twirls, spins and dips that we do at home. That is, until the dance floor became rather crowded and we had to abstain from our planned routines. Of course, we also had the privilege of dancing to a few slower selections, specifically Heartland's "I Loved Her First", Tim McGraw's "My Little Girl", and, my favorite "Butterfly Kisses" by Bob Carlisle. Believe it or not, I fought off the inevitable waterfall of the eyes, that usually accompanies such songs when I hear them, and stayed strong through it all. It was funny, though, as at first, being the strong-willed little princess that she is, she wasn't sure how we should dance to these ballads. So, we spent the opening frame of the first song simply holding hands while rocking in a circle. However, when she recognized that other little girls preferred to snuggle up closer to their Dads, she asked if I would pick her up and she latched on tight; which, of course made it even more difficult to fight back any tears that wanted to join us. In addition to the dancing, we were able to spend some time in between songs over at the chocolate fountain, dipping pretzels and pineapple to both our delight; and we came close in the prize and 50-50 raffles, but couldn't quite win. Still, we were able to bring home 2 commemorative water bottles, a framed photo of the two of us, and a whole lot of memories! It was truly an experience I will never forget, and a day that I hope remains in my daughter's memory for a long, long time.

January 30: Heart-rate Monitor

My wife is much more into the fitness thing than I am. I give her credit, she's committed to her health...physically and mentally. It's evident in her eating habits and her desire to stay in shape, although her schedule, and the family schedule, don't always lend themselves to her being able to work out as frequently as I think she would like. Still, her head's in the right place. As a result, a while back, she had invested in one of those Polar heart-rate monitor thingys - with the strap that goes around the chest and the coordinating watch to wear while working out. My understanding is it does a ton more than just monitor your heart-rate, but I've never really looked much further into it than that part. As I prepared to take my 30-minute jaunt on the treadmill this morning, my wife asked if I wanted to wear her heart-rate monitor during my run. I immediately expressed little interest until she said "you would be trying something new" or a comment along those lines. At which point, I had no choice but to try it...you know, for the blog. So, I did. And, I can tell you, right from the start, it wasn't a good thing. First of all, it took 3 attempts to get the darn thing around my chest the right way; either it was backwards or I didn't have it in the right location. Once we were able to fit it appropriately, after my wife worked on it like some sort of fitness tailor, she then asked what my heart rate was beginning at. I said "71", and then came the comment which struck more fear in me than confidence...."71? That's your resting heart rate?" So now, of course I'm paranoid that I have heart problems of which I was previously unaware. My wife indicated that perhaps that's the natural rate for my heart and eased my tensions for the time being...slightly. Thus, I begin my run; well, walk and run to be completely honest. My wife tells me that I should get up a good steam and then quickly move to a slower pace and evaluate how quickly my heart rate drops in 30 seconds. I guess the quicker it drops, the stronger your heart. Meanwhile, this whole time the darn thing feels like it's slipping from around my chest and I'm more worried about properly adjusting it than anything else. Now I can understand how it must feel for a woman to wear a bra all day long. Jeez. Anyway, I go full-pace for about 5 minutes, then drop down to a cool-down in order to test the strength of my heart, And, guess what? It's not dropping too quickly. In fact, it seems as though it's not dropping at all. Maybe because I kept raising my arm every 2-3 seconds to glance at the watch. Throw in my increased anxiety over the desire to see a free-fall in beats per second, and we likely have our major contributors in the fact that it dropped so slowly. Over the course of my session, the speed in which it fell varied, and, afterwards, my wife did her best to reassure me that my heart is likely fine. But, the whole purpose of working out was to alleviate my stress and, due to the monitor experiment, that didn't happen all that well. The lesson? If you're not a big fitness person to begin with, don't go messing around with the tools of the serious fitness folk - it can only make you feel worse about your health.

January 29: Reverse Sandwich

Have you ever felt bad for an inanimate object? Maybe it's just me. I can remember as a kid experiencing guilt when faced with the decision to select one stuffed animal over another to accompany me on our family vacation to Florida. Of course, I was just a child then. And, I'm sure any Psychiatrists out there reading this entry are currently thinking "I have to talk to this guy", as they desperately search for our home number in the White Pages. Still, as crazy as it sounds, I like to think, at some point in time, we all perhaps have these types of feelings. Take sandwiches, for example. Does the bread ever resent the fact that it's always assigned the task of protecting the cold cuts tucked safely within? Would the bread, for just once, enjoy shedding the supporting role and become the center of attention firmly wrapped within thin slices of bologna, salami, ham, cheese or any other wonderful combination one can conjure up? I, for one, believe it would. So, as I assembled my son's salami and American cheese sandwich on this day, his favorite by the way, I made a conscious decision to stand up for all of the lonely, unappreciated bread slices across this great country and parade it into the sandwich spotlight for this particular meal. Yes, I created my first ever "reverse sandwich"! You start by carefully laying the lunch meat of choice on a clean paper plate. Next, apply any dressing - mustard, mayo - on to the cold cuts (on this day, my son opted for no dressing). Then, place a slice of cheese over the top. Add, the bread, and repeat the previous steps in reverse order. Voila! There you have it...your very own reverse sandwich! A little bit greasier than your traditional version, but, fair, nonetheless, to all ingredients involved. Viva, la bread!

January 28: Abandoned Real Estate

Our school/daycare routine leads me past a lot of different things in and around the cities that are so tightly connected in this area. There's one particular landmark that I occasionally pass, depending on the selected route, which always inspires my curiosity. It's a now abandoned factory that's nestled into a pocket of land closed in by Mound Road, 23 Mile Road and, to some degree, Van Dyke. It's a fairly large facility, and its desolate appearance is almost ghostly in it's own right. Let's just say, for any of you who remember the old MTV show "Fear", this place seems like to it would have been the perfect location to shoot one of those episodes. The morning of January 28, my curiosity got the best of me, as once again my mind wandered through all of the possibilities of what was manufactured there, as we drove past. So, upon returning home, I decided to do a little research as to the history of this particular location. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy! But, after a few dead ends, and some Google misdirection, I finally got a break in my investigation. From the data I could find, this particular "plant" had many different inhabitants through the years, possibly even was shared by several companies at one time. The earliest information I could dig up dates back to 2004, when it seems both US Equipment Leasing and Western Oilfields Supply Co. both had leased this piece of real estate; or some part of it. Then, in January 2005, McDonald Modular Solutions entered the picture, followed by Connel Finance, in some way, shape or form, in September 2008. The records are a little fuzzy on all of this. But, the biggest proprietor through these years appears to have been Ford-Visteon; who used the plant for the manufacturing of interior/exterior parts. In October 2005, those operations were taken over by Automotive Components Holdings, LLC - a temporary business managed by Ford Motor Company that protected the flow of critical parts and components. However, in early 2009, the plant was shut down and, a year later, remains a ghost town. So, now I know...and you do, too. It's certainly not something we would find in a history book on the shelf of a local library, but it's still interesting enough; to me, at least. Although, after losing 5 minutes of your life to this blog entry, you might have a different opinion on that.

January 27: Courage

Lately, courage has been a big part of the nation's headlines. Just look at the people of Haiti, our President's passion for healthcare reform, and the soldiers who continue to spend their days overseas. Courage is what keep them standing on their feet, forging ahead; even when it seems as though their they're moving backwards and not forward. In our home, we've recently been blessed with our own demonstration of courage from my 6-year old daughter. See, right before the holidays, we had a very frightening experience from which we've discovered that my daughter has an allergy to tree nuts (not peanuts, just tree nuts - walnuts, almonds, pecans, etc.). You can't imagine how something like this changes the entire family's way of life. We now stringently check every food label and continually reinforce to her that she's going to be okay as long as she doesn't eat tree nuts. My heart goes out to her, as she's had an extremely difficult time coping with this situation; particularly in school where she is exposed to all types of food since both the school and her classroom are not nut-free. She seems to feel better after talking through the fears that come and go based on what she's doing at any given time (obviously, food triggers a little more anxiety in her), as she mostly just needs reassurance. Unfortunately, my wife and I are not with her during school in order to provide that for her. So, on the evening of January 27, I took a new approach. I created these 3x4 cards, if you will, each with their own little message, such as "Be Brave" or "You're Not Afraid of Nuthin!" (as my daughter used to always say to us), along with an image of Barbie from her various movies. In her videos, Barbie always portrays a women of strength and courage who overcomes her fear, worries and struggles to achieve the things she sets out to achieve. My wife and I put one in her school folder today to surprise her and to let her know that we're behind her even when we're not with her. We'll try this for the next couple of days and see how it goes in terms of alleviating some of her anxiety. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

January 26: No Deposit

I work for a bank. In fact, over my career in the learning industry, I've worked for two banks and came this close to a position with a third (I had to turn down that opportunity due to unfavorable logistics). So, anytime I experience something odd involving a bank, I probably take a little more interest and find a bit more irony in the situation; even though it's usually something that could happen to any one of us. Such was the case the morning of January 26. During the process of taking my son to daycare, I swung by the bank to make a deposit. Nothing major, just my winnings from my fantasy football league - a whopping $11.25. You know that old saying about how "there's no prize for second place"? Well, that may be true, but I know now that there is, in fact, a prize for 3rd or 4th place...and, it's roughly $11.25. Anyway, I had to use the ATM for my deposit as the bank had not quite opened yet. No big deal, I figured in and out in less than 5 minutes. Right? Wrong! Oh, it was less than 5 minutes, the only problem is that the ATM would not accept my deposit. Instead, the ATM delivered to me a message that the Depository System was currently down, and that I needed to try my deposit at a later time. Weird, I've never had a bank refuse to take my money! Don't feel too bad for me, as the ATM did inform me that my transaction would be canceled....so I got that going for me, which is nice (a little Caddyshack humor there). Anyway, after dropping my son off I was forced, out of fear for repeating the same ATM experience, to actually go into the bank and deposit my check directly to a Teller. Jeez, in today's age of technological convenience isn't that unheard of?

January 25: My Own Bucket List

People always talk about how they wish they could do this or they've always wanted to try that. And, let me tell you, when you're making a conscious effort to have a new experience every day, that kind of thing seems to always be in the forefront of your mind. This evening, as I thought about the day and any new things I may have stumbled across in the process of just living, I realized that I too am guilty of such extravagant expressions as "man, someday I'm going to do that!" I've just never drafted such a list in order to be able to start planning some of these things and slowly checking them off. So, instead of doing what I usually do and promising myself I would do it sometime soon, I grabbed a pen and took the liberty of inking a bucket list of things that I'd like to try, do, learn or see before my own departure from this world. And, now I will share that list, as it stands today, with all of you (in no particular order, of course):

• Field a ground ball on the infield of a Major League ballpark
  
• Learn to speak Polish fluently
• Visit Poland
• Visit Ireland
• Author a book or screenplay
• Taste a $100 bottle of wine
• Go diving from the inside of a shark cage
  
• Own a business
• Paint my own masterpiece on canvas
• Run a marathon (okay, maybe just a 5k)
• Skydive
• Have a meaningful conversation with a famous celebrity
• Drive a $100,000 vehicle
• Drive a car at speeds of well over 100 mph (safely, of course)
• Live in another state
• Own season tickets for a professional sports team
• Climb a mountain (a very small mountain)
• Learn how to dance the jitterbug (mostly for my Mom)
• Participate in a ghost hunting expedition
• Travel the world with my wife
• Own a condo in Florida (hey, you gotta retire somewhere)
• Read an entire book via a Kindle
• Give a very generous donation to a charity
• See one ballgame at every MLB stadium in the U.S.
• Dine at a restaurant owned by a famous chef (we're talking Gordon Ramsey here)
  

January 24: Turn the Page

Great Bob Seger song, but not the focus of this blog entry. My experience had more to do with the newspaper, than Michigan's own rock legend. Every Sunday morning, my wife and I venture into our sitting room across the way from the kids and their TV shows playing in the family room, relax into a cozy chair with a warm cup of coffee and read the newspaper. For as long as I've been engaged in the action of reading the paper, I have always, always selected the Sports page first before reading any other section. This is not just a routine for me, but more of a religion. This particular morning, for whatever reason, Earthly or beyond, I read the Front Page section of the paper first. And that's it. Simple, somewhat boring, but for one day my knowledge of the Motor City and surrounding areas stretched beyond the latest headlines for the Wings, Pistons, Tigers and Lions. I feel like a new man (kidding, next Sunday I'm actually going back to the Sports page first routine, as I really didn't get much out of today's process).

January 23: Chirp-Chirp

I ate a cricket today. Live, no. Real, yes. But, I did, in fact, eat a cricket. Forty-one years into my life I've manged to achieve the status of "bug-eater"; a status that most young more commonly achieve around my son's age - usually in the backyard and mostly out of curiosity. If you're wondering, yes, I allowed my son to eat one too...he liked 'em so much he had another (mostly just to gross out his sister)! So, how did this insect buffet come into play? My in-laws just returned from Orlando, and knowing my son's high regard for members of the Insecta, they brought him back some Crick-ettes. I guess they're available in 3 delicious flavors - we were blessed with the Bacon and Cheese variety. So, being the spiritual advisor of new opportunities that I've become these 3 short weeks into 2010, I lead off this little dining initiative to show my son that it was no big deal to eat a bug. What a role model I must be! I've heard many cultures find eating insects to be entirely acceptable, even delicacies in some places. And, even some scientists claim that eating insects can be healthy for you. But, I just can't see our family making this part of our recommended daily diet anytime soon. There was nothing to it...a bit pithy like a sunflower seed with the shell still on, but mostly it just disintegrated on first crunch. I'll also add that, luckily, the bacon and cheese flavoring strongly overwhelmed any bug taste that may regularly accompany these little fellas, otherwise I would have probably failed miserably in my attempt to be the brave leader of these festivities. In the end, I ate a bug and that's definitely something new for me. I can also look forward to sharing this story with my son's little friends in daycare, as, at that age, it's just this sort of thing that launches a little boy into legendary status in the eyes of his peers!

January 22: Casting Call

No, I am not going to play an extra in an upcoming motion picture filmed in Michigan, as today's title may have mislead you to think. Instead, this experience had more to do the recently broken leg incurred by my oldest niece, Stefanie. The unfortunate incident occurred around the turning of the new year as a result of a sledding expedition gone bad. We had been getting regular status reports from my sis regarding Stef's condition and progress, but this evening we were able to finally stop by and visit her in person. Thank God, too, because my daughter had been nagging us incessantly, since we first learned of the accident, over going to see Stefanie because she wanted to sign her cast. That's over 3 long weeks of nagging from a 6-year old; those of you with kids know exactly what that sounds like and those of you without kids don't ever want to be on the receiving end of such persistence. Needless to say my daughter's wish was finally fulfilled while I, too, had an opportunity to fulfill my goal of experiencing something new: this was the first time I had ever signed my "John Hancock" to a cast. Pretty strange, if I say so myself. Here I am, a very young 41 (and I do mean VERY young), and I've never signed some one's cast. Those of you who are thinking "jeez, didn't this guy have any friends growing up?", I can confirm that, yes, I did have plenty of friends. But, fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you look at it), none of them ever broke a bone. And, neither have I. Although as a kid I always thought it would be cool to do so. Now, as an adult, and especially after talking with Stefanie, I can say that I'm glad that's once experience I haven't encountered yet. And, there you have it. My niece's broken leg leads me to something new and guides her to fame and fortune as the focus of today's blog entry. Okay, given the low level of readership that I assume is associated with this blog, there's likely no fame or fortune awaiting you Stef, but I certainly appreciate the opportunity to sign your cast and continue one of my goals for 2010. So, thank you!

January 21: Everything's Gone Digital

Technology is running wild these days! You have iPods, Kindles, Blackberries; not to mention the online craze starring Twitter, Facebook, MySpace...the list goes on. It's getting to where we don't even need to leave our homes to shop, network, bank or hang out with friends and family (you can even see each other via computer now using free services such as Skype!). The day they come up with digital food that truly satisfies your hunger is the day I pull a La-Z-Boy recliner up to the desktop and park myself there permanently - I jest, of course. I'm not against technology, it just seems that human relations, and people in general, are never going to overcome ignorance, hate and fear of each other unless we actually interact face-to-face. But, that's just my theory. Anyway, on January 21, our household stepped one foot further into the technology chasm when I assembled and set-up the digital video frame that I received for Christmas as part of our variation of the White Elephant Gift Exchange with my in-laws. This was to be my first experience with such a gadget. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the function of a digital video frame, this might help. The particular frame I received is very cool, as it holds up to 10 pictures in internal memory and offers several ways to display and transition photos as part of a running slide show. I've always been more traditional about photo display, trying to maintain some order using photo albums, and continually switching out old photographs for more current ones (or at least trying to do this on a regular basis). But, I have to say the appeal of being able to complete that same process simply by moving new pictures directly from my camera into a thumb drive and on to this picture frame seems ingenious, not to mention time-saving. Plus, with the slide show feature, we always have a new photo displaying at any given time! Will I now go out and replace all of our "manual" photo frames with digital versions? Likely not. But, I will confess, for a desktop, it's a unique alternative. And, besides, it makes a great conversation piece that will only increase the human interaction in this household.

January 20: The Telly Comes Through

It's about 8:55 pm last evening, "American Idol" is wrapping up and I'm stretching my brain trying to think of something new to experience so I can keep the streak going and, more importantly, have something to write here to all of you who are faithfully following this blog (as small as that audience may be). Up to this point, I'm going with doing all of the dinner dishes by hand for the first time since owning a dishwasher, but only because our lousy Maytag Whisper Quiet 300 is currently out of commission; second broken latch/handle in the past 5 years. "Hello, Maytag? Please remove us from your future customer's list. Thank you!" As you can tell, I wasn't real excited about the defective dishwasher, nor giddy about the idea of using manual dish washing as the focus for January 20. But, as the clock sang the start of a new hour through the house, I was saved by the television - specifically, the Fox network. For at 9:00 on this evening, a new show called "Human Target" was getting ready to begin. The pilot episode I believe. And, sure enough, I took full advantage. So, the premise of this delightful, yet predictable, new show is that Christopher Chance, the main character played by actor Mark Valley, is a former security expert who is now hired out to protect clients by becoming the target of whoever is trying to kill them. The regular cast also includes Chi McBride, as Chance's boss, and Jackie Earle Haley, who most of us probably remember best as Kelly Leak from the original "Bad News Bears" movies. Although, he looks quite different in this role (probably because he's no longer 12 years old). During this particular episode, Chance is challenged to protect a hacker on an airline flight, of whom he doesn't know the identity, while at the same time try to identify the assassin, who wants to knock-off the hacker, among the passengers. Interesting plot, huh? I thought so, even though much of the show leaves you thinking "been there, done that" in terms of the storyline, one-liners and fight scenes (but, then again, how much more can you do with fight scenes on a plane?) For those reasons, I'm not confident that "Human Target" can be saved from falling off the Fox prime-time schedule at some point, but on this night, it sure did save me from failing to try something new.

January 19: Two Babes and the Bird

Today's new experience comes to us from what I can best identify as a middle-aged woman and her son, whom I peg between the ages of 11 an 14, who delivered the experience to me firsthand: literally! I'll get to that in a minute, but let's start from the beginning. I had just I picked up my son from daycare and proceeded to exit the facility upon which the daycare resides. Something you should know about said facility is that it exits at a 4-way stop, with a traffic light, out to a main road that is hopping around the time this incident occurred. My goal here was to turn right on to the aforementioned road, and as I came to a stop at the red light, the oncoming traffic was quite lengthy so I knew I would have to wait for green before turning. While waiting, I took the opportunity to turn and look at my son who eagerly wanted to show me how to form the letter "N" using sign language; which, of course, he had just learned in school. However, I took a quick peek at the light, which was still red, before turning. I couldn't have been but 2-3 seconds looking at my son and his letter "N" (which he does quite well, by the way) when I returned to facing the light, which was now green. As I began my right turn, an SUV coming left from straight across the intersection basically cut me off. Enter Mom and Son, who apparently felt that I should have slammed on the gas and peeled out around the corner the very millisecond the light changed to green. Truth be told, their random act of impatience wasn't extremely close to clipping us, and at no point were my son and I in danger as a result, but it still gets under your skin a bit, at least mine, when someone can't wait a matter of seconds because they obviously have a life-changing event to get to in a short amount of time; or at least something more important than me getting my son home safely. Anyway, just to inform them that I wasn't pleased about their lack of discipline, I gave 'em a brief honk. And, that's about the time I experienced a first in my life. Almost in slow motion, my honk created this reaction: Mom turned sideways in order to raise her hands and, what I assume, scream some form of obscenity at me, while her son - get this as this is the big bomb - gives me some sign language of his own - "the bird", if you will! Now, I've been yelled at by other drivers, but I can't say I've ever been the recipient of the middle finger by an adolescent/young teen who was with his Mother! I mean, she had to have seen him as she was looking out that very same window he used to send me his message. Mom sped off afterwards and quickly turned at the next light, so I was not able to continue this conversation to get her take on the actions of her son. But, I would have loved to find out if he was self-taught or if the finger was part of Mom's lesson plan. Regardless, I tried something new, though it wasn't by choice, and I was able to teach my son a lesson of my own: there are all kinds of idiots in this world and the best thing you can do is just ignore them and chuckle when their world collides with yours.

January 18: Lady Jane's

Let's face it, how you look in society is the first impression people take away of you. It's sad, given there's so much more to every person than what you see on the outside, but it's also true. And, your hair, hairstyle, plays an important role in how you look day-to-day. Just ask the teen-age Scott from years ago who would have fits every morning before school because his hair wouldn't do what he wanted it to do; drove my folks crazy, I'm sure. Then, for a time, in an effort to ensure my hair was at its best, I religiously followed a Stylist named Michael David from salon to salon, as he knew exactly how I wanted my hair and he delivered on such with perfection every time (if you're near Birmingham and want a great haircut, check out Bitonti and see if he still works there). Luckily, I've outgrown those needs as I've grown older and other, more important, concerns have taken the place of such trivial ones. But, nonetheless, I still enjoy a good haircut; and, unfortunately, when I began working from home the trip to see Michael in Birmingham became too much of a task. For a short time after that, I went to Lynn Gordon Salon in Troy. Another great haircut by Grace (who also does my wife and daughter's hair - we highly recommend her!), but again, too long a trip to take during a work day. As a result, I've recently had to kick around locally trying different hair salons to find the right fit - Great Clips, Grondins, etc. My latest endeavor was Lady Jane's Haircuts for Men. Okay, before you go judging me for being "just like a guy", my intentions were nothing more than to see if I could get a decent haircut. That, and I was also a little curious about all of the "stuff" I heard they do to cater specifically to their male audience. So, after some ribbing from my wife, I gave it a whirl. Upon entering the establishment, the theme they try to get across was widely evident. Their waiting area featured half-a-dozen or so recliners which sat before 4 large-screened TVs playing various sports channels. The decor is all sports-themed, focusing primarily on the local professional teams - Red Wings, Pistons, Tigers and Lions. And, the Stylists...well, let's just say none of them were male and most of them appeared to be dressed for the bar rather than for work. I think my wife described it best as I was sharing my experience with her...."it's like Hooters for hair". While I waited, for 30 long minutes by the way, I tried to figure out the appeal. Don't get me wrong, I understand the attractive women and their attire, but, maybe I'm, God forbid, just too old for that kind of thing anymore, especially when I just want my hair done. My Stylist was nice enough, appropriately dressed for hair styling, and she did give a good haircut; but even then I easily caught on to her flirtatious behavior that was obviously aimed at getting me to invest in her product recommendations. Twenty years ago, I probably would have fallen for it, but not anymore. It was most obvious after she sensually massaged my scalp while explaining that the conditioner she was using contained peppermint oil which is a natural stimulant; following it up with a "how did that make you feel?" as we returned to her station. I'm still not sure what she was trying to stimulate through that process, but I steered way clear of asking. In the end, I did get a decent haircut, but at a $16 price tag plus tip; about $6 more than I usually dish out at some of the aforementioned places. It was definitely a new experience, however, I likely will not be returning. Nothing against the LJ crew, it's just that at this point in my life, I'll easily trade all of those male-directed accommodations for the extra 30 minutes back in my life and an extra $6 in my pocket. Call me stingy, but I've got better things to do with my time and money.

January 17: Multiple Opportunities

Some days, new opportunities just seem to pop up all over the place. This was one of those days. First and foremost, my wife and I decided to take the kids bowling for the first time at Imperial Lanes. My daughter had tried it once in school as part of a class outing, but the family had never gone together. Myself, I've not bowled since I was a kid, and I wasn't any good then, so I didn't think the chances of improvement had increased over the years. Not a big deal, of course, but someone had to model the act of bowling for our kids and my wife had already volunteered to not accept that responsibility; so the weight of teaching fell directly on my shoulders (although, in the end, my wife really was the better teacher). As I mentioned, it has been years since I was in a bowling alley, but, I soon found that the distinct odor of must and smoke had not changed all that much. Thankfully, all that will change come May with the passing of anti-smoking legislation, but it's January and the odor was ever-present for our bowling date. Much to the dismay of my daughter who immediately freaked out thinking that her asthma was going to be triggered by said smoke and she would be rendered breathless for the entire visit. Of course, that didn't happen, but still, just to be safe, we probably will not return to the lanes until Summer. Once my daughter managed to get over her "fussy" (as my Son calls them), we were able to proceed with our bowling activities. A quick recommendation for those of you planning your first bowling excursion with young kids: ask the employees if they can flip up the gutters in the lane. We discovered this entering our 9th frame, a little late in the process, when the family next to us had made such a request. In hindsight, it probably would have been a much more rewarding experience for the kids, as all of those gutter balls they threw, which accounted for about 80% of their throws, would have ended up hitting some pins instead. All-in-all, the kids enjoyed it - especially the frozen cokes and bowling alley pizza from Sorrentos - and my wife and I enjoyed watching them try something new. And, if bowling wasn't enough of a new experience for the day, I also had the privilege of making eggs for the first time on the Cuisinart Griddler that my wife received for her birthday. In the past, my egg-making efforts centered around an everyday fry pan and a can of Pam cooking spray. Needless to say, the result was usually messy eggs and a lot of Dawn and scraping following breakfast. But, this beauty, with a marvelous non-stick coating, was eggs-travagant (a little infomercial lingo to back my testimonial)! Eggs that remained intact and just a bit of hot water to rinse the cooking plates; which are also dishwasher-safe I might add. Now, that's what I call a successful meal! Needless to say, Sunday was a big day for new things. And, given I'm only 2.5 weeks into this thing, it was nice to have a day like that for once.

January 16: Sid

I thought I had watched every educational kids' show on TV with my children at one time or another. But, life really is full of surprises. As I discovered Saturday morning when I took in my first full episode of "Sid, the Science Kid". I had caught bits and pieces of the show here and there; passing through to pick up toys or clean up the living room. But, I'd never had the privilege of watching a full episode. From what I can gather, the show focuses on a single topic and then Sid and his pals - Gabriela, Gerald and May - take you through some educational facts about said topic via activities, humor, music and dancing. The addition of their Teacher, Ms. Susie, and Sid's Grandma add some charm to the story. The episode on this day was "Don't Forget the Leaves", during which Sid and friends learns that leaves are food for animals and they make nutrients so flowers and trees can grow. Though the learning points were pretty basic, it still engaged the whole family. And, given that I'm no expert on leaves myself, I even learned a couple of new things . For example, did you know that there are Raffia Palm Trees in Madagascar that have leaves that can grow over 60 feet in length? Pretty cool stuff. There's a million so-called "children's shows" out there, so it was refreshing to find one that goes beyond simple entertainment and provides some knowledge that sticks with kids long after the show has ended. Even today, the morning after, my kids can tell me some facts they learned about leaves. With characters who possess a passion for learning, and to whom children in their viewing audience can definitely relate, the show excels at making learning fun for kids! Now, if only school could excel in that same way.

January 15: Passing the Taco Bell Torch

In high school, there used to be a Taco Bell directly across the street from the school. For a time, I made a habit of frequenting that particular establishment at lunch and/or after school. Needless to say, the addiction of tacos and tostadas, not to mention my favorite - the bean burrito loaded with sour cream, quickly became part of my existence. I have to say, there's nothing like sour cream dispensed from that cool, little caulking gun they use. When I became a parent, I found myself sharing with my own kids many of the childhood experiences I went through. For a while now, I had been talking up Taco Bell; as we would pass by one of their facilities or throw around options for a Mexican dining experience (unfortunately, my wife doesn't consider dining in at a Taco Bell one of those experiences). But, Friday, January 15 was the day that I was finally able to pass the Taco Bell torch on to my children. And, I have to say it felt great! With my wife at work and my daughter in school, I seized the opportunity to introduce Taco Bell back into our lives with my son, who is home with me on Fridays instead of being at daycare. As we approached the drive-thru, all of those memories came rushing back to me in a whirlwind of joyful nostalgia. Actually, I'm kidding about that last statement. I'm really not that obsessed with Taco Bell, but rather just wanted to make sure you're still hanging on my every word. We did, however, use the drive-thru and I selected something simple for their first experience: soft tacos; a staple item of the Taco Bell franchise. We got 8 so that my daughter was able to experience the authentic taste of fast-food done to perfection! And, guess what? Both kids LOVED them!!! My son devoured 2.5 tacos and my daughter knocked off another two. Which is a far cry from the 5 that my wife consumed when she was pregnant with my daughter years ago, but still a pretty good tally for a couple of youngsters. And, even though we probably won't be hitting "the Bell" again in the near future, I can now go to bed at night at peace with myself knowing that I've given my children a chance to taste heaven wrapped in paper and delivered in a plastic sack.

Addendum: For those of you not so keen on the idea of fast food, but still curious about the aforementioned soft tacos (and I know you are after reading this post), I found this little gem on the Internet. I haven't tried it myself, but I'm sure with a little creativity and love, you can make a more healthier alternative without sacrificing the integrity of the original.

January 14: Buying Americano

While all of us probably do new things each day, we also probably don't even realize we're doing them. But, when you attempt to consciously identify those things each day, well, that's a completely different story altogether. In doing so, you really get a true sense of how challenging such a feat can be. I've discovered this two weeks into this process, but what I haven't discovered is why I'm finding it so difficult. Maybe it's because my opportunities are limited, as I'm not some worldly traveler with new opportunity around every next corner. On the contrary, I work from home, so my environment is pretty much the same day-to-day; unless of course I take a lunch break and run to the grocery store or step outside to remove the dog droppings from the yard. Even then, finding something new in those activities is a serious challenge. So, why am I telling you all of this? Because my new thing for 1/14 pretty much lacks any excitement and power at all, and like any story-teller I just want to be confident you're going to stay with me on this one; even if it is more like an R.L. Stine novel, than a Stephen King. Are you ready? My daughter has dance class on Thursday evenings, so my wife treated me to a Starbucks along the way. Actually, her boss treated me, courtesy of the $25 gift card that he handed out as a Christmas bonus. I'm sure that $25 of coffee and scones more than compensates my wife for all of the blood, sweat and tears she gives to her employer throughout the year, so a sincere "thank you" to him (and a blast of sarcasm to be inserted here). Anyway, aside from their Pike Place brew, I'm a huge fan of both the Caramel Macchiato and White Chocolate Mocha drinks, not to mention the Chai tea. But, with the burden of trying something new hanging over me, I selected the Caffe Americano. The Starbucks website describes it as a "Rich, full-bodied Starbucks® espresso combined with hot water for the European alternative to American-style brewed coffee". Sounds intriguing, huh? I describe it as a strong cup of coffee; which I guess, to some, is what espresso really is. I wasn't disappointed, I was just hoping for something a little more groundbreaking (and a little more powerful in the caffeine category). But, it served it's purpose, and now I can return to the land of caramel and white chocolate during my next Starbucks visit. How much did you say we had left on that gift card, honey?

January 13: A Workout Plan

Almost two weeks into the new year and I just began my fitness regiment for a healthier new me. Sure, like everyone, I was tempted by those New Year's Day ads that basically preached how I need to get in shape this year and, of course, offered me everything I need to do so...for a price. I joke, but the truth is my wife and I did commit to a healthier 2010 early on, going out on New Year's Eve and investing in a NordicTrack A2750 treadmill. The theory here is that, since we decided to quit LifeTime fitness back in November due to irreconcilable differences, the purchase of a treadmill will enable both of us to strengthen our hearts, minds, bodies and soul without even leaving the house; although, I still have to make the trek up a dozen stairs to accomplish that feat. Of course, this will be a new thing for me, as I rarely shuffled my lazy butt to the health club when I was a member. So, why not save the $110 monthly membership fee and work out in the comforts of our own home? Our new family member arrived on 1/13, and after the delivery guys sprained a knee, threw out a back and dislocated a shoulder lifting the darn thing up the stairs, they had it all set up and ready to roll. As the evening began, my wife relinquished to me the honors of christening this fitness beauty with the first run. It felt good to, well, just move my body in way other than walking or bending to sit and lift the remote at the same time. That is until the sharp pains in my left shoulder blade begin telling me it wasn't such a good idea. I guess starting out at Speed 5 with a sprint wasn't one of my smartest decisions. But, after slowing the pace and alternating between walk and jog (more of a trot, if you will), I eventually completed my first exercise session of 2010 - a whopping 15 minutes covering a span of 3/4 of a mile. Whoo! Hey, I was excited about it. I admit, the victory jog I took around the house afterwards while humming the Michigan fight song was a little excessive, but we all react differently following major accomplishments. The best thing is, I'm now motivated and ready to set up a regular fitness routine...that is, once the muscles in my hips, calves and thighs stop hurting.

January 12: Mallo Cup

I visited the local VGs market on my lunch hour today, mostly to ensure that my daughter would have a lunch to take for the remainder of the week. So, I'm in line, waiting for my checkout turn, as one usually does in a VGs, and I began perusing the "impulse rack", as I'll affectionately refer to it, of candy and gum. In doing so, my eyes scrolled past the ample stock of Mallo Cups located on the bottom shelf. And, I thought to myself "I've never had a Mallo Cup." Seeing that I really hadn't given much thought to what I would try today, I decided today would be the day that I would consume a Mallo Cup for the very first time in my life. Now, for those of you who are not familiar with a Mallo Cup (all 10 of you), my understanding is that it is somewhat of a nostalgic legend among most candy connoisseurs. And why not? Who wouldn't enjoy a chocolate/coconut mix molded into a cup-shape exterior with the sole purpose of securing the whipped marshmallow creme inside? I wasn't sure if I would or not, but I was willing to give it a try . I have to say, it is definitely different than I had imagined. First, the chocolately shell has quite a thick structure so that when you bite into the cup you are not overwhelmed with the marshmallow hiding inside. Where as, I thought I would be engulfed in marshmallow once it was exposed. And, the faint trace of coconut within the chocolate is just enough to make the texture more interesting than just your standard chocolate bar. There's even a bonus in every pack: Play Money (in the form of a thin, flimsy piece of cardboard that says "Play Money" at the top). Each card is worth a certain number of points that you can redeem for prizes on the Boyer Candies website. Mine was worth 50 points. Ironically, the card also mentioned that if I accrue 500 points I can get a $1 Rebate Check. So, let's do the math together, shall we? I spent 79 cents on the candy, and if I save 500 points I can get $1 back. Hmmm, I'm no mathmetician, but unless there's a 500-point card out there in one of those packages, isn't this kind of a rip-off? I guess the candy makers are stuck back in the early part if the 20th century and candy is still just a nickel a pop. Regardless, after consuming the pair (yes, they come in a convenient 2-pack), I have to say it was relatively enjoyable. Going forward will I make this my candy bar of choice? Likely not. I'm not obsessed with the aura of the Mallo cup like some of you out there, as I think this clip will demonstrate. For me, there are better bars to choose from, not to mention many that are probably a much healthier alternative.

January 11: Cussing and the Himalayas

Bad habits are... well, bad. But, we all have them. They can range from minor things like biting your nails or grinding your teeth to more serious, and often health-affecting, things like smoking or excessive drinking. I myself have several habits I'd like to break, some perhaps vices. So, when I awoke the morning of January 11, I decided I would attempt to consciously challenge one of my habits head-on: swearing. Now, most of us have a habit of throwing out the occasional "dammit" every now then, which is fine; I'm certainly not judging. And, I'm not saying I walk around firing off the language like Andrew "Dice" Clay (this clip is just a sample of what I mean by that - WARNING! Contains explicit language). But, I readily admit, I can occasionally let loose with other selections from time-to-time that extend beyond the widely-accepted "dammit". I'm not talking about evil or malicious language that you'd find in an Oliver Stone movie (little known fact, he actually wrote the screenplay for "Scarface"), but the more common "ass" and similar shi...., shtuff like that. And, with young children around, absorbing every word that leaves my lips, that can be a problem. Especially when, just recently, my daughter used the phrase "What the hell?" and my son told me someone was an "ass". Nice, huh? I know, I know, they're just words. However, unfortunately, society does not readily accept such language from the mouth of babes and, really, neither do I - especially my own kids. So, I committed to completely refraining from any and all said language for one 24-hour period. How did it go you might ask? Well, about an hour into the morning, as the kids were resisting getting themselves dressed and ready to depart for school, my streak came to an abrupt end as I muttered to myself, under my breath thankfully, "why the hell won't they get ready?" Minor, yes. But still a violation of the swearless oath I undertook for the day. So, while I tried something new, I failed miserably; which, in hindsight I guess is not the goal here, but I still feel bad about it. So, later in the evening, in an effort to successfully try something new, I sampled the Himalayan Rock Salt my wife picked up at Trader Joe's over the weekend. Hey, you always gotta have a fallback plan.

January 10: Pinot and 3-buck Chuck

I like beer. I do. I like the taste of it. I like the way it looks when poured into a pint glass. And, it's definitely my beverage of preference when viewing a sporting event (which I personally define as baseball, football, hockey or basketball). However, over the past year, I have to admit that a certain brand of wine has stolen my heart. Probably, because it's only 2.99 a bottle AND it tastes really good! The brand is Charles Shaw wine; more affectionately known as "Three-Buck Chuck" (I guess it was originally deemed "Two-Buck Chuck, but in today's economy a price hike was inevitable). To this point, my wife and I had only committed to the "red" line, as there's a common perception that such a low-priced white does not deliver a very high-quality taste. At least that's the common perception in our household, where my wife always says "a cheap bottle of red is always better than a cheap bottle of white". Quite frankly, I've never gone so far as to challenge her philosophy on that. For one, she's pretty knowledgeable on the topic of wine, and, to be honest, I find the reds quite delicious, so why mess with perfection when it's working, right? But, for something new, today seemed to be a good day to finally put her theory to the test. So, I invested in a bottle of Charles Shaw Pinot Grigio and popped it open this evening to enjoy prior to dinner. As usual, my wife was right. Even as I poured into the wine glass, the hue of the wine was so clear that I thought perhaps I'd mistakenly opened up the sparkling water instead. In that moment alone, I knew this wasn't going to turn out well. The first sip: tasteless. Seriously, there was not any taste at all. The second sip: a hint of fruitiness, but almost like...well, flavored sparkling water. The first glass: not very memorable. Of course, now, I had to have a second glass as I was fully invested in the challenge at this point. I have to say, the second glass was much more appealing than the first. And, the third was even better. You're seeing the pattern here now, aren't you? My recommendation: if you like wine, definitely give Charles Shaw a try sometime. We get it at our local Trader Joe's in Rochester. But, if you do decide to try it out, best stick with the Shiraz, Merlot or Cabernet. Otherwise, save a buck and grab a bottle of sparkling water instead.

January 9: Twitter

Okay, I'll admit it. I was curious about this whole Twitter thing and how it works. My initial perception is that it seems a little self-serving. I mean does anyone out there really care what I'm doing at any point in my day, other than maybe my wife and my boss? So, I had to experience this phenomenon for myself and, at the same time, it seemed like a good thing to add to my "new things for 2010" experiment. So, I just finished signing up and even posted my first "twit", "tweet" or whatever they call it - I haven't gotten the lingo down yet. I kept it short and simple, although the character count for each entry seems to indicate every entry has to be that way, saying only that (and I'm paraphrasing) "I joined Twitter to try a new thing and I'm blogging about it right now". Fascinating, huh? So, if any of you out there want to follow me through my days, you can search me on Twitter by my user name smcounsell41302. I just can't promise you'll find many updates during your visits.

January 8: Credit Where Credit is Due

I knew when I undertook this challenge of doing one new thing every day this year that every "new" event would not be a groundbreaking event. Friday, January 8 was one of those days. In fact, the new thing I tried may seem sort of trivial, probably boring...but, hey, the goal is to try something new, not new and exciting. Anyway, we have a yearly week-long vacation in Sarasota with my in-laws every March, and the biggest obstacle in planning for the trip is when to buy airfare. We've invested in the online service Yapta to keep us up-to-date on the latest fares, and, this year, the question was not as much when to buy but how to fund our purchase. With the changing credit environment and a hike in interest rates, we've been forced to close out credit cards that we would typically use for this particular task. So, with full buy-in from my wife (actually, more like a "yeah, honey, whatever you want to do" response), we decided to apply for a new credit card....but not just any credit card, a Boston Red Sox MasterCard (insert "oohs" and "ahhs" here)! For those of you who know me, you're well familiar with my obsession for Boston baseball. Anyway, in the past, I've always completed such an application using a paper form and the US Postal Service. But, in the spirit of trying something new, this time I applied online. I have to admit a certain degree of apprehension in doing it this way, as I have a strict reluctance to providing my social security number to anyone or anything. So, after putting it off as long as possible, I decided to go for it (had to, I had a blog deadline to meet). Being an associate of Bank of America, I found it difficult to do this through any other bank other than BAC, and, thankfully I followed through with that. As I quickly learned that if you are an existing Bank of America customer AND you use their Online Banking service, you have the option of using an express application. The best part? You don't have to give your soc number via this method. In the end, it was a piece of cake. Just 5 minutes taken from my evening and an instant decision for my card. The verdict? Approved, of course. So now I can show my team support every time I make a new purchase, and, better yet, we can finally get serious about buying our air fare. Groundbreaking? Far from it. But, for my wife and I, one more "to-do" that we can check off our list.

January 7: Overcoming Fears

Fear is a funny thing. It can often be crippling to one's life if it becomes an uncontrollable obsession, but also motivating, and perhaps even a safety mechanism, when managed properly. As an adult, we like to think that most of our fears become manageable, until something like parenthood comes along and we inherit a whole new set of fears focusing on our kids, their health and their safety. This recently came to the forefront of my life when my wife and I discovered that my daughter has a tree nut allergy. Thankfully, it isn't a severe allergy, but the entire experience of discovery was frightening nonetheless; especially to my daughter who now is feeling the lingering effects of her fear in the form of anxiety when she's in a situation in which any kind of nuts are involved. The latest being shortness of breath when she sees or smells peanut butter; ironically to which she's not even allergic. This whole situation has resurrected my biggest fear as a child, primarily because of I've shared the stories of that fear with my daughter in an effort to help her understand that all kids are afraid of something, and to make a pact with her that we both overcome our fears together. Kind of a Daddy-Daughter support team, if you will. My primary childhood fear that still haunts me to this day: shark pictures. Yep, the big fish with souless eyes, sharp teeth and those aerodynamic fins. Hilarious, huh? I have a fear of shark pictures. There, I said it. The first step is admitting it, right? As foolish as it may sound. I trace the fear back to one day at the eye doctor's office where, while waiting for my Mom and Sister to see the doc, I came across a horrifying photo of a Great White Shark, taken from the inside of a shark cage, with it's mouth gaping open against the cage. To compund this terror, the book was an oversized Time-Life book of animals. So, it was a very large photo. Since that moment, I have not been able to turn a single page in any book involving sharks or the ocean. And, when leafing through any magazine from "Entertainment Weekly" to "Sports Illustrated" to "Real Simple" (although, as a guy, I don't ever read that one...jeez), I cautiously flip each page holding my breath in fear of that photo being on the next spread. It probably didn't help that through adolescence my Sister use to terrorize me by chasing me around the house with shark photos she found in a magazine; but I'll save the details of that story for another time. Anyway, so back to group therapy with my kids. To show my daughter that fear can be defeated, and hopefully help her cope with her own nutty fears (literally), I agreed to turn 5 pages of a shark book that my Mom bought me years ago as a tool for overcoming my fear (as you can tell, that never worked, but she had good intentions). And, you know what, I did it! In fact, driven by my kids' supportive cheers, I actually turned 10 pages. It scared the hell out of me to do it and, in hindsight, we probably should be thankful I didn't drop from a heart attack. But, I did it. They say "love can move mountains", and, in this case, it moved one Father a step closer to getting past old fears and trying new things for the sake of his kids.

January 6: Old Friends, New Places

Every few months or so, my buddy Nick and I get together to have a few beers, watch sports and catch up on life's events since our last male-bonding excursion. Traditionally, we meet up at Hamlin Pub, grab a space at the bar and indulge in a couple of "tall" beers and eventually a burger or some wings as the night wears on. It's a nice halfway point between our homes and usually not too crowded for our tastes. However, over the past few months, I've grown increasingly curious about a relatively new establishment called "Buffalo Wings and Rings"; as I pass it on my way to the grocery store and occasionally to/from my son's daycare when I take that particular route. I've checked out their website and learned a couple of things about this franchise. First, apparently it's very well known and not the one-hit wonder BW3 knock-off dive that I imagined it would be. So, my sincere apologies to all Buffalo Wings and Rings franchise owners and associates across the states that may be offended by such a perception. They actually have locations in 14 states, including two in Michigan. Secondly, it appears to offer a wide variety of menu items, beyond chicken wings and onion rings, that look quite delicious in the photos on their website; including their own line of sauces - which although seem relatively familiar, they appear to be a different variety from those offered at other local restaurants specializing in chicken wings. And, they have beer. For a guy, that's the one element that can easily minimize any menu, taste, cleanliness or service issues that may be encountered during your restaurant visit. So, after getting Nick's buy-in, we made our way down Schoenherr and into a world of wings and rings. You know those buildings that look small on the outside but are quite spacious on the inside? This was not one of them. It was small...very small. In fact, I've seen more square feet on playground jungle gyms. On the bright side, they had some pretty good beer specials going, and that's always a nice thing to hear from a bartender. So we ordered and began sharing stories. Eventually, we had to try their "wings", but skipped the "rings" and opted for the curly fries instead. Let's just say I don't think this particular establishment will be taking home any national (or local, for that matter) food awards anytime soon. I'll give a semi-thumbs-up to the fries, but I have to give the old 180-degree thumb to the wings. There was nothing special about them, and they were a little on the dry side; although their "Crazy" sauce, which is a combination of roasted garlic with BBQ, was unique. Still, like always, it was good to talk with Nick again and share some hearty laughs. And, as a bonus, the evening ended with a Chippewa victory in the GMAC bowl. But, all-in-all, I don't think we'll be returning anytime soon, and it seems the Hamlin Pub will be seeing two returning customers during our next adventure out.

January 5: An Energy Kick

My plan all along for this blog was to open myself up to life and let opportunities to try new things just sort of fall into my lap. I guess I'm either lazy or spoiled for believing that would actually occur. Unfortunately, it didn't, and I've been quickly reminded how nothing in life is free nor easy, and sometimes we have to make our own opportunities; actually, most of the time. Yesterday is the perfect case in point...around dusk, I unexpectedly received the chance to try something new via some positive karma and a little mojo by the Gods; but up until that point, I had nothin'! So, I thought perhaps it might behoove me to begin keeping a list of some of the things I've always wanted, or just recently discovered I want, to try. That way, on days when opportunity is not revealing itself in gift-wrap form, I won't be left scrambling to continue this quest. I figure, at the least, I'll save myself some danger and/or embarassment in attempting something completely off-the-wall in an effort to ensure I have a daily entry in this blog. Today, at the top of my list, Monster energy drink. Why? I really have no idea. Maybe it's the cool can. Maybe it's my curiosity as to why I see so many people purchasing/drinking this particular beverage. Maybe I'm just tired of soda and beer. Whatever the reason, I picked up a can of this stuff today at Meijer. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about what to expect in terms of taste, as well as mildly concerned about the health risks that I so meticulously searched for information on via the Internet before departing for the store (it's true - I even emailed my wife the ingredients to get her perspective). Nonetheless, I made the purchase. And, upon returning home, I popped the top and eventually sampled the mystery and allure that is Monster. My first reaction: 1.99 for a 16-fl.-oz. can? Really? I can get 20 ounces of pure sugar and caffeine for 1.29 by investing in Coke. I guess the herbs and other "good stuff" in this mad concoction account for the 70-cent difference. As for the taste, I definitely felt a soda-like texture while swishing the first sip around my mouth, however it has more of a juice-like flavor to it. I suppose I cheated myself by only sampling 5-6 drinks before emptying the remaining brew into the sink, but I achieved what I set out to do and tried it. I can honestly say it will be the first and last time for me. But, on the bright side, at least here in Michigan I'll get 10 cents of this investment back in deposit next time I hit the grocery store. Cheers!

January 4: An Unexpected Gift

Well, things backfired a bit this morning. Today is my wife's official birthday. So, I set my cell phone alarm for 5 a.m. with the intentions of waking then making her a birthday breakfast before she departed for work. What I didn't plan for was the fact that we were out of eggs, which pretty much eliminated any kind of breakfast plans with the exception of boxed oatmeal, frozen french toast or some Raisin Bran with cold milk. Needless to say, not the kind of dream breakfast one would or should serve the woman you adore. Plan B was my offer to trek over to the local Dunkin Donuts and treat her to a hot cup of coffee and fresh muffin. But, being the angel that she is, not to mention her health-conscious manner of thinking, she politely rejected my offer and suggested I return to my slumber for another hour or so; which of course I readily accepted (hmmm, head out into single-digit weather or go back to a warm bed - not a difficult choice!). I had never made such an effort for my wife on her birthday, and I had intended to "kill two birds with one stone", so to speak: (a) first and foremost, show my wife how much I love her, and (b) use that experience as my new thing to try for 1/4. But, life is a funny thing. And, like my wife saying that this exercise is a great way for me to find opportunity in every day, that statement proved itself true today. For late this afternoon I was surprised with a work task that featured a deadline of tomorrow afternoon. Now, in the past, my typical reaction to deadlines like this, that involve my job or the perception of "success" in my job, is to let the task itself weigh so heavily on my mind over the course of the evening that no one in the house can find any use for me other than to simply let me linger in my own misery. But, not this evening - nope! Call it a miracle, call it a blessing or simply call it one man's attempt to try something new for a change and see the opportunity in the unexpected, but I was able to put the whole work thing aside and spend the evening focused only on playing "guys" (better known as action figures) with my son then "school" with my daughter, nothing more. Something I have never been able to do before, and thus truly a first for me. Granted, it is now 12:10 am and I just wrapped up my preparation for tomorrow's work task...but, going forward, I'll take that trade-off any day of the week.

January 3: Speaking Polish

"Dzień dobry"! Which, in Polish, means "good day, good morning, good afternoon". I know this now because I began learning how to speak Polish today using Rosetta Stone. The software was a birthday gift from my wife, Sisters-in-Law, Brother-in-Law, and my Mother- and Father-in -Law. My own Mom comes from Polish descent, and, in her honor, I wanted to learn the language. My Mom didn't speak much Polish herself, mostly names of food or meals. And, Mom always told me that my Uncle Hank only knows the "cuss" words, which I guess could come in handy at some point once I'm more fluent in the language. So, I'm very pleased that something like Rosetta Stone exists, as I don't know that I would make the effort to take a course somewhere to learn the language. After one day, I haven't retained much, but I guess that's all part of the learning process. Hopefully, I'll be able to bring more of the language to future posts. Until then, "Do widzenia".

January 2: Beef Braciole

Only two days into this "project" and I'm already posting a day late. I guess procrastination doesn't go away over night. In Training, we say it takes 21 days for a behavior to become habit. Following that theory, I can promise you that in another 3 weeks this won't happen again. However, I do have an excuse for writing this post a day late. We went out to dinner last evening in honor of my wife's Birthday, and after getting home and tucking the kids into bed for the night, my motivation to write was not at the high-end of the scale. Instead, we elected to get some value from our Netflix subscription and slid "Twilight" into the DVD player. And, for the record, watching a teen-focused vampire film is not my "new thing" for the second day of the year (although, that would have certainly been eligible for the "new" category). Instead, I'm selecting the meal in which I chose to indulge during my wife' birthday celebration as the subject of my new thing to try. We dined at Maggiano's in Troy, MI, and rather than stick with my old Italian favorites - ravioli, linguine, lasagne - I tried the Beef Braciole. For those of you who, like me, are unfamiliar with this dish, it's actually pronounced bra'zhul; which the waitress politely informed me of after I butchered the name while placing my order. Basically, it's beef cutlets stuffed with a ground beef/bread crumb/cheese blend and, in my case, served with flat noodles, cannellini beans and veggies in a tomato sauce. Bottom line, it was remarkable! Taking a hint from my stomach the evening before, I took it upon myself to learn a little more about this delicious entree from the Internet. Some interesting things to note: the American version is quite different from the traditional Italian recipe, and the Italian version is generally not eaten as a main dish but rather a side dish. Oh, and I guess the singular version of braciole, which is non other than braciola, is occasionally used as a slang reference for a penis. Let's just say I'm extremely happy I learned that little piece of knowledge following my meal and not before.

January 1: A New Beginning

They say the first step towards accomplishing any goal is to simply start doing it. So, here I am..."doing it". See, for most of my 41 years, I've made a hobby out of starting things but never quite getting to that elusive finishing point. Books, screenplays, poems, do-it-yourself projects...you name it. That's not to say I've never accomplished anything I ever set out to do. On the contrary, I'm a pretty good Husband and Father, a reliable and productive Learning Consultant for Bank of America, quite successful in the fantasy sports realm, and fairly handy at useless facts and trivia. But, in the back of mind, I always knew I could shoot a little bit higher in certain areas; mostly in the dreams and aspirations category. In an effort to break that pattern in 2010, I thought maybe tasking myself with something mild in the challenge department yet heavy in the rewards might just the key to some new motivation...a self-delivered kick in the pants if you will to get me working towards some of those other things I'd like to add to my life resume before it's too late. That's when this idea came to me. Why not triple-dog-dare myself to try at least one new thing every single day throughout the 2010 year and then write about the experience? A little novelty, I know, perhaps even bordering on childish. Trust me, I've gone over it again and again in my head, weighed the pros and cons. Yet, there's something about it that makes me feel motivated again - eager, excited and ready to take action; which is exactly what I haven't done to my satisfaction to this point in my life. It hasn't gone away, so I'm taking that as some kind of sign that maybe this is something I need to follow through on. So, as I finish up writing this first entry of the new thing I've accomplished today, which is simply starting this adventure and managing to get it typed into this blog, I think of the words of Roy McAvoy from the film "Tin Cup"..."when a defining moment comes along, you define the moment or the moment defines you". Maybe this is my defining moment.